Author: Ezra Grant

I'm just tired of the lies and nonsense coming from the GOP, so this is my little contribution to combat the nonsense!

Categories
Featured

Police Detective Used Same Language in Multiple Suspect Confessions

As the Brooklyn homicide detective Louis Scarcella told it, the suspect in a ruthless home invasion that left one man dead and two more people in a coma started talking after just a few minutes of questioning.

“You got it right,” the suspect, Jabbar Washington, said. “I was there.”

The phrase was straightforward and damning, introducing the central piece of evidence that sent him to prison for 25 years to life. At the 1997 trial, Mr. Scarcella told the jury that it was the easiest confession he had obtained in more than two decades working for the Police Department.

But if the interrogation was unique for him, the wording was not. In at least four more murder cases, suspects questioned by Mr. Scarcella began their confessions with either “you got it right” or “I was there.”

Mr. Scarcella, 61, was a member of the Brooklyn North Homicide squad who developed a reputation for eliciting confessions when no other detective could. But questions about his credibility have led the Brooklyn district attorney’s office to reopen all of his trial convictions.

The similarity of the confessions, which was discovered in a review of cases by The New York Times, raises new doubts about the statements that Mr. Scarcella presented and that the prosecutors used to win convictions in dozens of murder cases. One of the men, David Ranta, who had spent more than two decades arguing that he never made the confession attributed to him that began “I was there,” has already been released from prison.

Defense lawyers fighting the convictions say the resemblance of statements attributed to inmates who shared nothing in common makes it more likely that Mr. Scarcella fabricated evidence, laying the groundwork for cases to be dismissed and millions to be paid in wrongful conviction lawsuits.

“It’s sort of beyond belief that it would be coincidental,” said Steven Banks, chief lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, which is reviewing 20 cases handled by Mr. Scarcella.

A confession by Jabbar Washington in his 1997 murder trial uses phrases found in other confessions recorded by Mr. Scarcella.

Mr. Scarcella, a 26-year veteran who retired in 1999, stood by his record, saying he was one of the best detectives in the department. As for the similarities, he said: “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I will say this again: I have never fabricated a confession in my life.”

Categories
Politics Senate Wisconsin

Wisconsin Voter – Republicans Are “Sticking Their Nose In My Vagina!”

It was almost a war in Wisconsin on Wednesday, when Republicans, determined stick their nose in women’s vagina, did just that. But don’t take my word for it, Democratic Senator Kathleen Vinehout read a few letters from some of her constituents as she tried to hold a debate about the Republican’s proposed bill to force women to have an Ultrasound before an abortion.

In one of the letters Vinehout read, the constituent said this;

“The idea of — quote — small government is in direct conflict with big government Republicans sticking their nose in my vagina,” one voter named Suzanne wrote. “How can we get the conservatives — mostly men — to quit blaming women, many times girls, solely for unwanted pregnancies?”

But the sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator Mary Lazich, did not want to hear anymore letters from those pesky constituents. After all, they’re just the people who will be affected by the proposed forced ultrasound procedure. Mary, with much passion in her voice, made her point known.

“If you have a loved one that’s thinking about terminating their pregnancy, for crying out loud, you want them to have full information, you want them to have an ultrasound, you want them to know what’s going on in that womb and what they’re doing, and that they’re not going to be able to change that for the rest of their life!” They make that decision, it’s over! It’s over in a few minutes. And then later on they can live with the fact that they terminated their pregnancy and it was the best thing for them or they killed their child and they made a horrific decision and they regret it and they wish they never would have done it!”

Passion was high indeed. These so-called “small government” believers wanted…no… needed this bill to pass. So the Republican Senate President Mike Ellis, had enough from the Democrats. He demanded that the Democrats “shut up” and “sit down,” while the bill was forced down their throats.

The bill ended up passing the Republican controlled Senate and is expected to pass the House. And of course, the Republican governor will sign the bill into law.

Watch the craziness below.

Categories
Politics

Republican Senator’s Son Calls Himself “n1ggerkiller” Online

Sen Jeff Flake
Sen Jeff Flake

Sen. Jeff Flake’s high school–aged son Tanner used Twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you, and … will beat the crap out of you,” joked about an acquaintance stealing one-liners because he’s Jewish, and went by the name “n1ggerkiller” in an online game.

“I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well,” Sen. Flake said in a statement to BuzzFeed.

Although Tanner has since locked his Twitter account, a series of tweets from January and February show the Arizona Republican’s son repeatedly using the slurs.

Additionally, Flake posted screenshots of scores from games on “Fun Run,” a social gaming app. The screenshots show that Flake goes by the name of “n1ggerkiller.”

UPDATE: A source points out that Flake’s YouTube comments are also littered with offensive language. A preliminary review of the hundreds of comments shows he repeatedly called other users “nigger” and “faggot,” called Mexicans the “scum of the Earth,” and on several occasions bragged that his father is a member of Congress.

Categories
Technology

Facebook Adds Support For The Hashtag

Facebook is adding support for hashtags to help its members keep track of popular topics being discussed on the social network,

Adding the “#” sign to a word will turn it into a clickable link which brings up a feed of what other people are saying about the same topic.

Using hashtags to identify a theme was popularised on the internet by Twitter.

Facebook said it offers a “larger view of what’s happening”. Experts said it might also aid ad sales.

Other services that support hashtags include Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, Sina Weibo, LinkedIn and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Categories
Videos

50 Years Later, Medgar Evers Is Finally Honored

Nearly half a century since his murder, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was honored in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Gwen Ifill examines the life and legacy of Evers — a World War II veteran and the NAACP’s first field secretary in the South — with Jerry Mitchell of The Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

Categories
edward snowden News

Edward Snowden Fired for Being a Moley Mole

Well, that wasn’t the exact reason given by his former employer Booz Allen Hamilton, when they issued a statement confirming that Edward Snowden – the 29 year old who took responsibility for leaking national secrets to the media and to the world- was fired on Monday. According to the statement, Mr. Snowden was fired for “violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy.”

In other works, Snowden was fired for being a mole.

The company said that Snowden, who had been assigned to a team in Hawaii for less than three months, was earning a salary “at a rate of $122,000.” Snowden claimed he made about $200,000, a figure that could have included overtime pay and other bonuses.

Snowden, a computer technician from Maryland who previously worked for the CIA and the National Security Agency, had been holed up in a sleek hotel in Hong Kong for weeks before checking out on Monday. His whereabouts are unknown.

He and his girlfriend moved out of their rented bungalow in a Honolulu suburb on May 1 after the owner told them he wanted to sell the property, a real estate agent told The Times. Neighbors in the middle-class Waipahu neighborhood said in interviews that the couple had lived there for a few months but kept mostly to themselves.

Snowden told Britain’s Guardian newspaper, which reported many of his leaks, that he had left Hawaii without telling his girlfriend where he was going.

Categories
Politics

Obama Administration Held 22 Meetings with Congress on NSA Program

Obama administration officials held 22 separate briefings or meetings for members of Congress on the law that has been used to justify the National Security Agency’s controversial email monitoring program, according to data provided by a senior administration official.

According to the official, the sessions that took place over the course of 14 months starting in October 2011 touched on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, which gives the attorney general and director of national intelligence the authority to gather intelligence on non-U.S. citizens for up to one year. Section 702 has been cited by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as the legal basis for the NSA’s PRISM program, which has allowed the government to track email communication data.

The Guardian and The Washington Post revealed the existence of the PRISM program and another data-monitoring action last week. In defending PRISM from criticism, Clapper stated that U.S. citizens were not, and are not, targeted for the data dragnet. He and others have also insisted that Congress has had ample opportunity to review the program and provide feedback.

To buttress that claim, the senior administration official — discussing the matter only on condition of anonymity — sent over the following list of meetings and briefings that took place.

10/19/11: Meeting with Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Staff
1/10/12: House Judiciary Committee Staff Briefings (majority and minority separately briefed)
1/11/12: Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Briefings (majority and minority separately briefed)
3/5/12: Meeting with Nancy Pelosi
3/8/12: Meeting with Harry Reid Staff
3/15/12: Law Briefing for Senate Judiciary Committee staff
3/15/12: Briefing for Senate Leadership Staff
3/21/12: Meeting with Mitch McConnell Staff
3/23/12: Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Briefing at NSA
3/27/12: Meeting with Jim Langevin
3/28/12: Meeting with Jan Schakowsky
3/29/12: Thompson Meeting*
3/29/12: Sens. Ron Wyden and Mark Udall Meeting
4/10/12: Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Briefing (in Virginia)
4/20/12: Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Briefing at FBI
5/4/12: Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Briefing
5/31/12: House Judiciary Committee FAA Hearing (unclassified)
6/7/12: House Judiciary Committee MEMBER Briefing (classified)
6/11/12: Meeting with Patrick Leahy Staff
6/21/12: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Hearing (classified)
7/18/12: Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse/Richard Blumenthal Meeting
12/10/12: Akaka Meeting
* The Washington Post reported the meeting as with Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.).

Categories
Featured racist

Racist Woman Goes Nuts on Dunkin Donuts Employee – Video

Note to all racists, do not film yourself being racist, and if you do, don’t put it on the internet.

A Florida woman who filmed herself berating Dunkin Donuts employees for not giving her free food has been identified as Taylor Chapman, a 27-year-old Broward County resident and former low-budget commercial spokeswoman, according to The Smoking Gun.
Chapman went off on workers at a Fort Lauderdale store last week after claiming an employee the night before didn’t honor the company’s policy of comping her meal after forgetting her receipt.

In the 8-minute video — which Chapman appears to have posted online — the iPhone-toting crackpot unleashes an avalanche of profanities and threats, at one point calling the employee who wronged her a “little f—-g sand n—-r.”
“Because I’m about to nuke your whole f—- planet from Mars,” Chapman seethes after spotting the worker who served her the night before.
“You think you all are tough big fat Arabs bombing the Trade Center? I’ll show you tough.”

“This s— is about to go live b—-h. Right on Facebook,” she says.
The Dunkin’ Donuts employees remained courteous during the ordeal and assured Chapman she could get whatever she wanted for no charge.
“I want my bacon crispy and I want my people to be nice,” she mutters at one point to another customer.

The video went viral on Sunday and Monday, and Chapman was quickly outed by The Smoking Gun and other sites as the Coolata-loving creep.

Thousands of commenters on YouTube and other sites slammed Champan for the abuse.

Categories
Featured

Love – Man Caught On Camera Stealing Flowers For His Ex Girlfriend

A Polish news crew reporting live from outside an apartment complex in the north-eastern city of Łomża unwittingly captured some breaking news as their cameras inadvertently recorded a crime in progress.

As the reporter for 24-hour news channel TVN24 went on about two local parents accused of keeping their kids locked indoors for five years, a thief could be seen in the background stealing a bouquet of roses from a flower shop.

Two employees are then seen emerging from the store before quickly returning inside, presumably to phone the police.

Andrzej Czapka was ultimately identified and apprehended, thanks in large part to his appearance on the news.

“I’d broken up with my girlfriend and I wanted to win her back with some flowers but I had no money,” he is quoted as telling the police. “I didn’t even see the film crew.”

h/t Gawker

Categories
News

Body Found in Louisiana Bayou That of Missing Teacher

The decomposed body found this weekend in a Louisiana bayou was identified Monday as that of a teacher missing for three months, the New Orleans Police Department said.

The statement said Terrilynn Monette, who was last seen March 2, was identified through dental records. The death was ruled a drowning, and there were no signs of trauma to the body, police said.

On Saturday, a diver with the Slidell Police Department who was volunteering to dive the waterways in the search for Monette found her Honda Accord in the bayou.

‘I’m in shock’

Monette’s mother, Toni Enclade, told CNN earlier that she had been notified a body was found.

“To know that she could have possibly been there for three months,” she said, overcome with emotion.

Enclade said she does not know when she will be given a final answer.

“I can’t even begin to go there right now,” she said. “I’m in shock. I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this.”

Monette, 26, was last seen leaving Parlay’s Dream Lounge in New Orleans, where she had been celebrating with friends her nomination for a “Teacher of the Year” award.

Authorities have focused a large part of their search efforts on the waterways because Monette would have had to drive across the bayou to get from the bar to her home.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney Wanted Hurricane Sandy To Come Another Time

Forget the 285 who died because of Hurricane Sandy. As far as Mitt Romney is concerned, they’re not that important. What’s important to the 2012 Republican presidential candidate is the timing of the Hurricane. You see, Mitt thinks Sandy’s timing was wrong. If it was left up to him, Sandy would have made its appearance another time… preferably after the November 7th election.

In an appearance on… wait for it… Fox News, Romney spoke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and his new found friend in President Obama, after Sandy destroyed the East Coast;

“…I’ve been a governor, and I know what happens when there’s been a national disaster — and that is, you look for help from the federal government. You want the president and you want the other agencies of the federal government to step in and provide help.

“And Gov. Christie did what he thought was best for the people of his state, and I don’t blame him for that at all. He was helpful to me and my campaign every way possible. I consider him a good friend. He has a great future, he’s a terrific governor, he’s doing a good job in New Jersey. I have no ill will.”

When Fox host Neil Cavuto asked Romney if Christie got too “chummy” with Obama after the hurricane struck the east coast, and whether that hurt his campaign, Romney replied;

“I can tell you the Hurricane didn’t come at the right time, that’s not because of Chris Christie. That’s because one of the advantages of incumbency is that when there is an event like that, you get to see the president in a fatherly roll and showing his sympathy for people who were harmed, who had been victims of the storm. And obviously, that gives a little boost to the president’s efforts.”

Categories
Politics twitter

@HillaryClinton Joins Twitter With A Teaser Profile

While many outlets went crazy today trying to decipher what the “TBD” on Hillary Clinton’s new twitter account means, we will let the profile speak for itself.

SIDENOTE: “TBD”… it’s simple. Future President of the United States. Why are they still trying to figure this out? It’s as clear as day!

Exit mobile version